As we start to see leaves turning, we are happy to offer a large assortment of fruits and vegetables from area farms and gardens! Please come by on Tuesdays from 4-6 or Thursdays from 12-2. If you would like to learn if you qualify, please call 860-824-7232 Tuesday through Thursday. Here is a sample of what we have today!

 OUR SPRING NEWSLETTER IS HERE! 

We invite you to take a look as we thank all of our wonderful donors and volunteers.

Welcome to BETTY, the Mobile Medical Unit!

Happy Spring! We're to happy to see flowering plants starting to peek through the ground at Pilgrim House and can't wait for our gardens to come alive and greet our clients.

Even more exciting, we're thrilled to announce that Community Health and Wellness's Mobile Medical Unit, "BETTY", will be in our parking lot at 30 Granite Avenue in North Canaan every Thursday beginning March 17th from 10am-1pm. The medical team will be here before and during our food distribution for the convenience and benefit of Fishes and Loaves clients and the general public. While appointments are NOT necessary, they are suggested in order to reserve a specific time with the medical staff. Please see the below flyer for the full range of services that will be available to you.

We greatly appreciate Community Health and Wellness's interest in being here for our clients on a regular basis. WELCOME, BETTY!

Check Out Our First Newsletter!!

 

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving!

We're happy to report that we will be receiving a good supply of turkeys and all the fixins' for Thanksgiving dinner from Connecticut FoodShare  this year. In addition, Bill Anstett has again reached out to us and will have more turkeys and chickens available to us through the Sunday in the Country Drive- the years'-long institution supported by many generous area donors. We are also thrilled that once again the thoughtful folks  from Northwest Community Kitchen Volunteers will be baking an assortment of mouth-watering pies  for distribution. to enjoy.

Our clients are being asked to sign up in advance for either a turkey or chicken so that we have enough to serve everyone. 

Please note that our hours Thanksgiving week will be Monday from 12 -2 and Tuesday from 4-6. Turkeys will be distributed both days.

 We are very thankful for the many blessings we enjoy.   -HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Season's Finale for the Community Garden

The last herbs from the Canaan Town Garden are being harvested as we head into Halloween weekend. The creation of our volunteer, Catie Aakjar, the garden just ended its second year and is being put to bed over the weekend. Thank you to Catie, Denise and Ron Dower and the many others that helped with their sweat equity and monetary donations. We are also grateful for the Green Pastures Grant made through the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation that helped purchase plants, mulch and equipment.  Hats off to the local garden centers that contributed plants for the garden!

Our Volunteer Gladys Wilcox Receives Award

 The highlight of our summer was celebrating our volunteer manager, Gladys Wilcox, who was honored by the North Canaan Lions Club in August. Chapter President John Mahoney presented Gladys with the Rose Amanda Freeman Award for her outstanding community service at a dinner on August 12th at Pilgrim House. We couldn't be prouder of Gladys for her dedication, organizational skills and  performance of the many tasks that must be completed to keep Fishes and Loaves in operation. Congratulations and thank you, Gladys!

Below our director, Louise Riley, congratulates Gladys, who displays her award.

                     

Pilgrim House Flower Garden in Bloom

Our garden is thriving in its second year with plants donated by volunteers. Pat Graf takes loving care of it by  planting, weeding and watering.

 

Selfless Service to the Community Award

Gladys Willcox, Volunteer Manager of Fishes and Loaves Pantry, has been selected to receive the Rose Amanda Freeman Award from the Canaan Northwest Lions Club for selfless service to the community. Canaan NW Lions Club President John Mahoney and Treasurer Valerie Crane are pictured notifying Gladys of the award in late June. A banquet is being planned for August 12th at Pilgrim House in North Canaan. Gladys is one of three recipients to be honored that evening.

Gladys Willcox with Canaan NW Lions Club President John Mahoney and Treasurer Valerie Crane.

 

Pantry now open for in-person food selection

On May 4th we re-opened Pilgrim House to our Patrons!

We are happy to announce that on May 4th patrons of Fishes and Loaves were again permitted to enter Pilgrim House to select their own food. Due to COVID-19 concerns we provided “curbside only” pickup from mid-March of last year until now.

Patrons that prefer not to enter Pilgrim House may continue to pick-up “curbside” boxes, put together by our volunteer staff. In addition, those individuals unable to come to the pantry because of health issues or lack of transportation will continue to receive boxes delivered to their homes.

Safety Protocols: Strict safety protocols have been implemented that include wearing a face mask at all times if you are not fully vaccinated, sanitizing hands upon entry and maintaining a safe social distance. There is a limit of three individuals allowed in the distribution room at any one time to maximize social distancing. We also encourage patrons to move quickly and not fraternize with other clients while inside the building to minimize contact and maximize efficient distribution and consideration of others.

Connecticut Food Bank Grant

Fishes and Loaves had items delivered May 19th through a grant from the Connecticut Food Bank for equipment to facilitate the distribution of food. We are very grateful to be the recipient of this grant.

Gladys, Catie and Pat assembling the bench for patrons to use while they wait to pick up.

Gladys and Pat take a look at the new insulated wheeled cooler.

Gladys unpacks a new floor mat.

Gladys inspecting the new platform truck to carry food boxes.

 

Join us. Signing up is easy.

In need of nourishing food?

Open Tuesday 4pm-6pm and Thursday 12pm-2pm

 We are happy to be able to serve the nutritional needs of people in North Canaan, Falls Village and Norfolk, Connecticut.

Email: fishesandloavespantry@gmail.com
Phone: (860) 824-7232

We would love to see you during our open hours.

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Community Support

Increased Support in Difficult Times

Click to VIEW VIDEO on 

Northwest CT Community Foundation website.

Fishes and Loaves Pantry, a mission of North Canaan Congregational Church, provides nutritional food to members of the community in need. The Pantry provides food support to about 120 people per week, including many children.

Unemployment related to the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the need for support across Connecticut and in our Northwest Corner.

"We have seen seen an increase of up to 50% in the number of households seeking supplemental nutrition, more young families, several with four children," said Louise Riley of Fishes and Loaves Pantry.

Recent grants from the Northwest CT Community Foundation Northwest Corner Gives: Covid-19 Rapid Response Fund and Northwest CT Community Foundation Northwest Corner Gives crowdfunding initiative enabled Fishes and Loaves Pantry to purchase PPE and cleaning supplies to keep volunteers safe and provided for the purchase of additional food to meet growing needs.

Calico Fair Benefit

The Calico Fair, held for many years in November at Pilgrim House, benefited Fishes and Loaves. We are optimistic it can be held in 2021 following last year when the pandemic made it impossible. 

Families always had a great time, including Lynne and her granddaughter Maeve in 2019.

Meals from Roma's

We were the beneficiary of a grant obtained by Northwest Litchfield Food Rescue that provided individual meals from Roma’s for our patrons in July, 2020. 

It helped a local business as well as Fishes and Loaves during the difficult times of Covid-19.

Covid19 pick up procedure

Due to the Covid-19 safety concerns we pack food boxes for delivery to clients' vehicles instead of letting them enter Pilgrim House."

For the safety of everyone.

 

Cooler for dairy products

We were thrilled to be the recipient of a beautiful cooler for dairy in October.

Amanda Freund, of Freund's Farm, helped us apply to New England Dairy to obtain the cooler.

Ready for Autumn at Pilgrim House

Early fall colors in our vegetable and herb garden signal the end of the growing season.

We are getting in the spirit of fall holidays and will distribute soup, oatmeal and other cold weather staples to our clients.

USDA Farmers to Families Program

Above is one of four weekly deliveries of 25 boxes we received through the USDA Farmers to Families Program during the month of October.

Each box of fresh produce, milk, dairy and processed meat contained food to feed a family of four for a week.

We are very thankful to Friendly Hands Food Pantry in Torrington for organizing the distribution for our area.

Community Food Production Garden

We are so thankful to Catie Aakjar for establishing a Community/Food Production Garden this summer as well as the many people that helped support and maintain it.

The bountiful 250-lb. harvest including tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs, lettuce, kale and squash was all donated to Fishes and Loaves.